Ultimate Muscle Fan Fiction ❯ I Want You Bad ❯ Whose Side are you on? ( Chapter 6 )

A/N: I don't know what time of year the Generation X saga took place, I'm just guessing summer, since the location of the Hydrozoa/Kid Muscle match-up reminds me of summer.

 

Disclaimer: I never have owned Ultimate Muscle, and I never will. Wah!

 

Recap: Kid Muscle took on Road Rage, and Eskara requested something dubious from Kiki...

 

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Chapter 6 - Whose Side are you on?

 

Dik Dik smiled to himself as he watched Kid Muscle and Roxanne in the centre of the dance-floor, their bodies locked together, slowly swaying in time to the soft, romantic music drifting through the hall. Kid was still over-joyed that he had defeated Road Rage, and Roxanne was still proud of him for his awesome victory. A short distance from the young love-struck couple Trixie was dragging Terry onto the dance-floor, despite his proclamations that he was a terrible dancer.

 

“Hey, Dik Dik,” Meat said, appearing beside Dik Dik with a paper plate in one hand, and a chicken leg in the other.

 

“Meat,” Dik Dik greeted him.

 

“Hey, shouldn't a handsome young guy like you be up there dancin' with a pretty young girl?” Meat asked, smiling up at Dik Dik.

 

“There is only one pretty young girl I would want to dance with, Meat,” Dik Dik replied, smiling to himself.

 

“Ah, you're talkin' about Roxanne's little friend, right?” Meat asked, before taking a bite out of the chicken leg.

 

“Perhaps I am,” Dik Dik sighed, trying to sound poetic.

 

“I heard she went to the 24 hour mall,” Meat spat, through a mouthful of greasy chicken. “Roxanne said somethin' about how Kiki needed to get a new dress for tomorrow, and it was so important, she put off comin' here tonight.”

 

“A dress for tomorrow?” Dik Dik muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I suppose because tomorrow is the last first round match-up, and the celebration afterwards will be a much bigger affair, as it marks the start of the semi-final round.”

 

“Aw, no, it's not for the buffet,” Meat said, between sucking the grease from each of his fingers. “It's a dress to wear to tomorrow's match. Trixie said Kiki's got a crush on someone that's fightin' tomorrow. I guess that means she likes Terry. Gee, tough luck, Dik Dik.”

 

“Or not...” Dik Dik growled, clenching his fists at his sides.

 

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“Kiki?” Trixie gasped, her eyes widening in shock.

 

“Oh my God, Kiki!” Roxanne blurted. “Look at you!”

 

“Hey you guys, I got us all some refreshments!” Kiki brightly replied, holding her tray up higher. “And this time, Terry can't steal them off us, because he has to fight!”

 

“Wow Kiki, you really are totally in love with Eskara, huh?' Trixie bluntly asked as she helped herself to a burger and a soda from Kiki's tray.

 

“What?” Kiki asked innocently.

 

“Oh come on, Kiki!” Roxanne sighed, rolling her eyes. “Look at you! New dress, your hair all pretty... Kiki, are you wearing make-up? You never wear make-up!”

 

“I just wanted to get something nice for the big celebration tonight,” Kiki lied, sitting down into her front row seat and removing her own snacks.

 

“Well, whatever your reasons for dressing up are, you sure look good, Kiki!” Roxanne assured her, taking her drink from her.

 

“Thanks, Roxanne,” Kiki said sweetly, sliding the tray under her chair, and then taking her drink back from Roxanne.

 

“You look like a bit of a ho to me...” Trixie muttered.

 

“Hey! Stop being so mean, Trixie!” Roxanne snapped, slapping Trixie's arm. “Just ignore her, Kiki!”

 

Kiki nodded her head; but as Roxanne turned away, she scowled over the back of Roxanne's chair at Trixie. Trixie was too distracted to notice, so Kiki turned her attention back to the ring.

 

Doc Nakano and Mac Metaphor were still making their way to the announcers' table, so Kiki knew that they would have to wait more than a few minutes for the match to start. Kiki used the time to admire her dress. It was a dress she had always adored before, but had never had the courage to actually buy, feeling certain she would never wear it. And of course, Trixie's blunt remarks about how Kiki could never wear such a dress on account of her wide hips had completely put her off buying it.

 

The dress was made of thin, bold green cotton, and looked almost like the sort of dress that a fairy would wear. At the front and back, it came to her knees, the hemline curving upwards at her sides to make the front and back sit in a V-shape. The back of the dress was very low, and the straps over her shoulders were thin and dainty, Kiki was silently glad that it was summer, and the weather was warm enough for her to wear the dress without getting too cold.

 

“Roxanne!”

 

“Oh no!” Trixie groaned, slapping a hand against her forehead. “Here comes Kid Muscle...”

 

Roxanne and Kiki turned in their seats to watch as Kid shoved his way through the audience, heading directly towards Roxanne. Meat was following him, but at a considerable distance, walking down to their seats with Broken Junior. The two were apparently deep in conversation about something, but the attention of those around them was mainly on the two men silently following them.

 

“What are Jaeger and Hydrozoa doing here?” Trixie asked no-one in particular.

 

“Well Kid's here,” Roxanne replied. “And Wally was meant to be coming, but his mother made him stay at home, since he only got out of the hospital this morning.”

 

“I guess they would want to see this match, but why did Jaeger come here?” Trixie continued. “He's already lost his match. Road Rage isn't here.”

 

“I guess he just came to support Eskara,” Roxanne suggested. “After all, if his team-mates lose their matches, it will affect his fate here on Earth, right?”

 

“I guess so. Speaking of wrestlers, shouldn't Dik Dik be here? I mean, he will be fighting the winner of this match, and this is the first time anyone has seen Eskara fight. Shouldn't he be here to plan a strategy for his semi-final match?”

 

“You're right, Trixie! That's odd, Dik Dik normally never misses a match. Unless he's in hospital, or something. But he should be here now. I'll ask Kid about it when he gets here.”

 

Roxanne and Trixie continued to watch Kid, anxiously waiting to quiz him on Dik Dik's absence; but Kiki was distracted as she spotted the official stepping into the ring to announce the upcoming match. She rose from her seat, watching at the arena entrance as the ring announcer foretold Eskara's appearance.

 

The audience gave Eskara a fairly neutral, quiet reception; this match-up was only a big hit because Terry Kenyon was such a firm fan favourite. Kiki began to grow nervous as Eskara stepped up into the ring: would he notice her new outfit? Would he like it?

 

Eskara walked around the ring slowly, watching the audience from the corner of one eye as though subtly searching for something. As he passed the section adjacent to Kiki's he paused, his head rising up slightly, and turning more fully towards the audience. Kiki quickly looked out across the crowds of faces, but could not see anything that would captivate his attention so.

 

When Eskara remained frozen on the spot, Kiki stepped up to the steel railing, stretching onto the tips of her toes to scan over the audience. She spotted one person, quite far back in the upper stands, much taller than the others, who was standing perfectly still, staring back at Eskara.

 

It was Kevin Mask.

 

Kiki began to contemplate how Eskara could possible know Kevin, when he moved on again, making his way towards her section. Kiki quickly turned her eyes to Eskara, trying to suppress a girly grin of delight as he neared the area where she sat. As he caught sight of her, he grabbed onto the top rope with one hand, leaning closer to the edge of the ring. He smiled darkly, and then tugged at the brim of his hat, nodding his head in approval. Kiki giggled and waved back at him, drawing Trixie's attention.

 

“Kiki, don't wave at Eskara, he's the enemy, remember?” she snapped.

 

“But he's a Muscle Leaguer just like Kid and Terry, he's not a bad guy!” Kiki protested.

 

“But he's about to fight Terry, so he is a bad guy,” Trixie sternly replied.

 

Kiki nodded silently, slinking back from the railings. Just then, the ring announcer informed them that Terry Kenyon was on his way to the ring, causing the audience to explode in unanimous, rapturous applause for the hometown hero (after all, few Chojin warriors were actually from Earth!)

 

“Oh look, he's carrying the Irish flag in honour of Wally!” Trixie cried, clasping her hands at her chest. “You're so cool, Terry, I love you!” she bellowed at the Texan as he entered the ring.

 

Terry unhooked the giant Irish flag from his arm, and tied it to the ringpost. As he was tying the flag down, the bell rang for the start of the match, and Eskara wasted no time in charging at Terry.

 

“Terry, behind you!” Trixie yelled, along with most of the rest of the audience.

 

Terry spun around, effortlessly avoiding Eskara's attack, and landing a roundhouse kick across Eskara's chest in the process. Kiki yelped involuntarily as she saw Eskara being knocked back by the force of the blow, causing Trixie to growl at her in frustration.

 

“Say, Kid, where's Dik Dik Van Dik?” Trixie sneered, watching Kiki as she spoke.

 

“I dunno,” Kid answered, shrugging his shoulders. “He said he had some important business to take care of, or something like that. I don't remember exactly, I wasn't listening.”

 

Kid began to idly pick his nose, causing Roxanne to groan, and slap a hand against her face.

 

“Important business?” Trixie pressed, folding her arms. “Like what? What could be more important than supporting his friend, and finding out who his next opponent will be?”

 

“Like I said, I wasn't listening,” Kid said, shrugging his shoulders again, looking down at his fingers as he rolled something gooey between them.

 

“Tissue?” Roxanne asked, through tightly clenched teeth, as she handed Kid a tissue.

 

“Huh?” he asked, turning to face her as he wiped his hand on his thigh.

 

Roxanne sighed, hanging her head in despair.

 

“Terry, what are ya doing?” Meat yelled suddenly, banging his fists on the steel railing. “You don't turn your back on a guy like Eskara!”

 

The others turned towards the ring, all curious to learn what had Meat so riled up all of a sudden. Inside the ring, Terry was down on one knee, tugging at the boot on his right foot, completely oblivious to his opponent, who was slowly walking towards his back.

 

“Terry, look out behind you!” Trixie screamed urgently. “Quickly, Terry!”

 

But Terry either did not hear Meat and Trixie's warnings, or chose not to respond to them, as he continued obsessively pushing and pulling at his boot. He looked severely angered with the boot, and the distraction it was causing him looked likely to cost him dearly as Eskara grabbed the hair at the top of his head and yanked him to his feet.

 

Terry cried out in pain, lifting his hands at last to swipe at Eskara's arm. Eskara merely laughed at him, lifting him completely off the mat, and punching him in the gut with his other hand. As Terry groaned in pain from the impact, Eskara coldly released him, allowing him to fall hard to the mat below. Eskara walked over to the corner of the ring nearest Terry's friends, smiling down at them as he began to untie one of the ring ropes. Kiki smiled back at him, unable to hide her preference in the match.

 

“What's Eskes - Eskas - Eskel... What's that guy doing?” Kid asked Meat.

 

“Eskara,” Meat replied impatiently. “It's pronounced Eskara. Sheesh, is that really so hard for you to get your head around? And it looks like he's takin' the whole ring apart!”

 

“That's not fair!” Kid protested.

 

“You're only saying that because you're scared that you might have to fight that guy at some point!” Trixie snapped.

 

“Yeah, so?” Kid asked meekly, tapping his index fingers together.

 

“You're such a useless coward!” Trixie roared. “Terry, get up and kick Eskara's ass!” she screamed, waving a fist at the ring.

 

Trixie walked up to the steel railing, grasping onto it with both hands, her bright blue eyes ablaze with anger.

 

“Hey Trixie, don't get mad at Kid!” Roxanne said, touching a hand to Trixie's shoulder.

 

“Terry!” Trixie yelled, ignoring Roxanne.

 

“Oh my...” Kiki muttered, her eyes widening as she watched Eskara begin to tie Terry up with the ring-rope.

 

“Now I know that's not fair!” Kid said. “That's just cheating!”

 

“Yeah!” Roxanne agreed. “Eskara's nothing but a cheater!”

 

“Nein, Eskara doesn't care for ze rules,” Jaeger said with a smile. “He slept right through ze class on ze rules.”

 

“Why does that sound so familiar...?” Meat muttered, eying Kid.

 

“What?” Kid asked innocently. “Those classes were so boring, and I couldn't last that long without food. So I just used the time to sleep!”

 

“You idiot!” Trixie cursed him. “Listen, Jaeger, since Eskara's your friend, why don't you tell him he can't do what he's doing?”

 

“No need, Trixie, look!” Roxanne said, pointing towards the ring.

 

Vance McMadd, along with an IWF official, were heading towards the ring as Eskara tugged the rope tighter around Terry. As they approached the ring, Terry shouted out to them.

 

“Let me be!” he called to them. “I can still beat this jackass, even if he is nuthin' but a no-good cheater! I'll get outta this myself, and teach this varmint a lesson he won't soon forget!”

 

Vance McMadd and his aide halted by the ring, unsure of what to do next. But, true to his word, Terry managed to spin out of the ropes and dropkick Eskara, before crashing to the mat himself. Although Eskara was knocked back against the ropes, Terry seemed to be worst off from the attack, as he screwed up his face and clenched his fists against the mat.

 

“Terry!” Trixie wailed.

 

“Hey, what's wrong with Terry?” Roxanne asked, approaching the steel railing.

 

Roxanne stopped by Trixie's side, her hands rested on the railing, frowning up at the ring. Again, Eskara was able to sneak up on Terry and grab him up by his hair. Eskara hoisted Terry up, performing a reverse suplex on him, then catching him in an excruciating headlock. Terry, despite his obvious pain from an unknown source, managed to reverse the move into a scissor leg lock. Enraged, Eskara began to punch at Terry, his frustration growing as Terry deflected every blow.

 

“Eskara, you must use your punches strategically, like ve learned at ze Hercules Factory!” Jaeger shouted to Eskara. “You can't beat him vith a barrage attack like zhat!”

 

“Ah, shut-up, Jaeger!” Eskara shouted back impatiently.

 

“I vas just trying to help you, Eskara!” Jaeger explained.

 

“Well take your help, and shove it up your ass!” Eskara growled, drawing back his right fist.

 

Eskara swung his fist hard at Terry, but Terry caught it, and quickly shifted his body around to put Eskara into an armlock, holding onto Eskara's arm with his entire body. The crowd began to cheer for Terry, but Eskara seemed unaffected by Terry's assault; in fact, he almost looked pleased with the shift of events. Standing up, with Terry attached to his arm, Eskara slowly raised Terry into the air, before slamming Terry's back down against his knee. Terry cried out in pain, but held on tenaciously.

 

“Go, Terry!” Trixie and Roxanne cheered.

 

Eskara began to look frustrated, and marched over to the corner of the ring, slamming Terry's back into the steel post. As an instinctive reaction to the pain, Terry arched his back, his arms and legs opening to free Eskara's arm.

 

“It's over, Eskara, finish him!” Jaeger yelled to Eskara.

 

“Finish him?” Eskara yelled back. “I'm just gettin' started!”

 

“Yay, Eskara!” Kiki squealed, grinning up at him.

 

The others turned to glower at her, but she was so lost in watching her hero, she did not even notice their ire.

 

Meanwhile, inside the ring Eskara was preparing to attack Terry again. He lifted off his hat and flung it out of the ring, and removed his jacket, tossing it out after his hat. Eskara then grabbed hold of Terry, setting him up for a piledriver. As Eskara dropped down, Terry swung out his arms, landing on his hands and blocking the attack.

 

“Huh?” Eskara muttered in confusion.

 

Terry quickly kicked back at Eskara, knocking him down. Terry grabbed Eskara's leg and began to use his famous Tornado Twist move, drawing another enraptured ovation from the sold out arena. Terry appeared to be in some sort of pain as he applied the move, but forced himself on regardless, tugging harder at Eskara's leg, and smiling to himself briefly as he heard a cracking sound, and felt Eskara's leg change shape in his arms.

 

“Give it up, ya no-good cheater!” Terry laughed.

 

When Eskara remained silent, Terry tugged harder, alarmed to hear a series of cracks and crunches. Terry was suddenly propelled forwards, yelping in shock as he found himself several feet from Eskara's body, with the lower part of Eskara's leg still in his hands.

 

“What the name of...?” he cried, turning back to Eskara.

 

“Don't look so frightened, Kenyon,” Eskara sighed, shaking his leg that Terry had been clinging to only moments ago. “Dat leg was just a fake.”

 

“What?” Terry echoed, his face paling.

 

“It was just a fake,” Eskara repeated.

 

Terry took another step back, his eyes widening further as he watched Eskara chuckle to himself.

 

“Oh my, what's dis?” Eskara said sarcastically. “Da surface of da wound is hollow?”

 

A chorus of shocked and disgusted noises sounded throughout the arena as Eskara waggled his mutilated leg around, grinning to himself as he did so.

 

“Look, dere's somethin' inside!” he continued. “It looks like somethin's growin'! It looks like… Another foort?!”

 

A red, clawed foot slid out of Eskara's hollow leg, kicking upwards, the heel of the new foot colliding with Terry's jaw and sending him reeling.

 

“And you just stand an' watch while I give you da play-by-play!” Eskara sneered.

 

Terry quickly shook off the effects of Eskara's kick, gasping along with the ten thousand spectators as Eskara rose to his feet, standing on one leg like the one Terry had in his hands, and the other in a large red boot, adorned with a set of white talons.

 

“I knew a monster like you couldn't be a real person!” Terry declared, throwing down the remains of the fake leg he held. “You're an android, ain't ya?”

 

“Let's just say dat it ain't only my leg dat's a fake...” Eskara slyly replied, grabbing his black shirt with both hands and ripping it open.

 

“What in the blazes…?” Terry yelped.

 

The crowd gasped again as Eskara threw his shirt out of the ring, revealing that his upper torso was a patchwork of skin and hollow, unnaturally red scars.

 

“Oh no, it cannot be!”

 

The gang turned to find that Kevin Mask had come down from the upper balcony to join them. Although he wore a mask, Kevin's body language and tone of voice spoke volumes to the others: he was clearly shocked and horrified.

 

“What kinda games are you playin'! Who are you, Eskara?” Terry cursed, punching Eskara square in the face.

 

Trixie screamed as Eskara's face slid around to the side of his head. Terry stumbled back from him, his face twisting in confusion and disgust.

 

“You see, Kenyon, dis was all just a disguise,” Eskara said, the front of his face moving beneath the twisted skin as he spoke.

 

“A disguise?” Kiki whispered, her face turning whiter by the second.

 

She did not know what to think; she had come to the match thinking that Eskara was an ugly man she found oddly and inexplicably attractive, only to have her opinion changed to believe he was some sort of genetic freak when he revealed his myriad of deep scars that littered his upper body; but now she had no idea what to think about Eskara.

 

Eskara grabbed one hand over his head, and the other over his midsection, tearing outwards with both hands at once.

 

“Oh dear,” Kevin gasped, as Eskara's true form was revealed. “It's all over for Terry Kenyon.”

 

“What?” Kid screamed, his eyes watering in fear at Kevin's words.

 

Kiki's jaw dropped slowly as she looked up at Eskara's new appearance. Her mind was blank, and she was not even sure if she was still breathing any more. Eskara had transformed from a bald, bulky, unattractive man, into a tall, lean figure in a red outfit, his face now that of a much younger, and very attractive, man.

 

“Eskara, I don't understand!” Jaeger called out to his team-mate. “Vhy did you disguise yourself?”

 

“It's a long story, kid,” Eskara called back. “But it had to be done.”

 

Eskara then launched himself at the still reeling Terry, throwing punches at him. Terry quickly came to his senses, and dodged around Eskara, setting him up for his Texas Calf Branding hold. Eskara escaped the move with ease, and set about using the move on Terry himself, improving the hold by holding both of Terry's arms instead of just the one.

 

“I like to call dis one de Buffalo Brander!” Eskara sneered, as he drove Terry into the mat. “You know, Kenyon, you'll never be half da man your father was, you're nothin' but a disgrace to da Terry family name.”

 

Eskara stood up, wiping his hands together as though wiping off dirt.

 

“Eskara, it's over!” Jaeger yelled at him. “You've von already!”

 

“It ain't over until I say it is!” Eskara yelled back at him impatiently.

 

Eskara turned around to find Terry trying to get up again. Eskara mercilessly kicked at Terry's legs, even surprised himself by how easily he knocked Terry over. Terry rolled around on the mat, grabbing his leg and screaming in pain.

 

“Pathetic...” Eskara muttered, before bending down to grab Terry up.

 

Eskara launched himself and Terry into the air, positioning Terry as though he was about to deliver the Kinniku Buster.

 

“Hey, that's my move!” Kid cried.

 

“Not quite, Kid,” Meat solemnly replied, pointing up at the duo. “He's modified it, look!”

 

The others watched as Eskara wrapped his legs around Terry's neck, making any chance of escape from the move impossible.

 

“He's corrected the one imperfection in the Kinniku Buster!” Meat gasped. “The one flaw in the Kinniku Buster was that the victim's head was free, and there was still a chance for the victim to escape the move. But with this modification, Terry doesn't have a hope in hell!”

 

Kid screamed in fright, grabbing onto Roxanne. In her transfixed state of horror, Roxanne ignored his act of cowardice, her eyes fixed on Eskara and Terry as they shot downwards towards the mat. As they collided with the mat, a brilliant flash of white light filled the arena, temporarily blinding everyone watching.

 

When the light had faded, and everyone had regained their fullest powers of sight, they saw a crumpled, motionless, heap in the centre of the ring; and Eskara standing over the body, one fist raised in the air in smug satisfaction.

 

“Ah, Terry!” Kid screamed.

 

“I tell ya, this guy Eskara was hidin' a lot more than just his face under that disguise,” Meat began, tapping a finger against his chin thoughtfully. “So come on, Kevin, tell us what you know about Eskara.”

 

Meat, along with all the others, turned to the point where Kevin had been standing before the flash of light; but he had disappeared.

 

“Hey, where did he go?” Roxanne asked, searching the audience for any trace of the tall masked Brit.

 

“More to the point, where did Kiki get to?” Trixie asked, folding her arms as she scowled at Kiki's vacant seat.

 

“Kiki...” Roxanne whispered, turning to where Kiki had been. “I sure hope she's okay...”

 

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Next Chapter: Revelations galore! Kiki learns of Dik Dik's dark secret, and Eskara confides in her regarding his disguise! Chapter 7 - Secrets Revealed.